Colorado OLB commit Alvin Williams on Saturday captured a Georgia Class 3A state championship, as he and the Cedar Grove Saints emerged victorious over Crisp County, 21-14.
Williams, now a three-time state champ in high school, aims to bring a similar mentality that's title-oriented to the University of Colorado.
At the time of Williams' championship victory Saturday, he became the third 2020 commit (after Carson Lee and Jayle Stacks) to capture a state title as an outgoing senior.
Later that night, Jake Wray and the Marietta Blue Devils won the 7A title.
Wray and Williams kept in close contact as the two future teammates navigated the playoffs.
“When we first got to the playoffs, he FaceTimed me and said ‘see you at states,'" Williams said. "I said ‘I come to your game, you come to mine.’ We stood by it and after I won mine, I said (to Jake): ‘You’ve got to finish the job!’"
Williams, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, was an early target of Brian Michalowski.
Michalowski has proven to have a keen eye for envisioning effective high school d-linemen transitioning to collegiate OLBs. Williams committed to CU over the summer and Michalowski made the trek down to Ellenwood, Georgia on Dec. 10 for a home visit.
“I’ve known him since the summer," Williams said of Michalowksi. "It’s more like hanging out with an uncle or a friend when I talk to him now. When he came up here for the home visit, we were just sitting down, talking it up and eating — we lost track of time.”
“He’s a great father and great person to be around. We connected off of pass rush. He’s got like a million clips of people knocking down the QB so we just sat on the phone for like three hours, talking about it.”
Williams was part of Cedar Grove's first ever state championship as a freshman in 2016 and won it agains as a junior in 2018. On paper, he can say he began and ended his high school career a champion, although in terms of an overall feeling, he said winning as a senior feels a lot different.
“I won my freshman year and I was more of like a role player," Williams said. "Last year as a junior I started playing more and getting better and better. This year, as a leader on the team, I finished a mission or drill. Our coaches always told the seniors to go out and win the last game and we won. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Williams led a Cedar Grove team that went 13-2 this year en route to capturing the state championship. The Saints allowed just 10 points per game in the playoffs and took a six-game winning streak into the postseason.
"Our defense was unstoppable the whole year and coming into the state championship game, I told the defense that we basically had to be like the 49ers and take over this game," Williams said. "We came in, took over, so as a leader and a senior I feel like I did my job to help my team win.”
On the whole, Williams sees a translation between he and other 2020 commits winning state titles and bringing that same winning mentality to Boulder. He said that the class remains tight-knit, as well.
“We love each other, Williams said. "One of my best friends is Keith Miller — he’s probably going to be my roommate the second semester when he gets here. It’s fun to build bonds. QBs and linemen, they love each other. WRs and DBs, they’re always talking trash to each other — it’s just a whole family thing. We all share the same mindset: when we come into this program, there’s no playing games and no losing. We all want to win. Who wants to lose?"
Williams is less than three weeks away from arriving in Boulder. He'll be a January enrollee at CU and will sign a NLI on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 18.
